" y THE WEST VIRGINIA January, 2010 VOL. 40, NO. 1 SOUTHERN BAPTIST A Cooprativ Program ministry gladly tlling th storis of God s work in and through WV Southrn Baptists Rick Coram v i G " : 6 9 o t l m t a h s P L o John 3:16 8Bring It!! r s d January 22 & 23 YEC:10 Charlst n, WV t v h r g l o r h d s YEC:10 Bring It! Whn you r in th gam--whr th comptition is rady to tak you down, with fans scraming for and against you, and a coach who put you in th gam for this momnt--you bttr BRING IT! This is what you wr cratd for; it s your tim; it s your plac. What ar you gonna do? Rgistr TODAY! Rgistration forms and othr info ar availabl at www.yecbringit.com. $10 $15 Until 12.16.09 Guarantd a T-Shirt AFTER 12.16.09 NOT Guarantd a T-Shirt Jason Lovins Youth Evanglism Confrnc an official vnt of th WVCSB & th Cooprativ Program $15 Until 12.16.09 Guarantd a T-Shirt Early Bird Rat EXTENDED!!! Downhr Bring It! to Charlston, WV. Bring It! is th thm for th Youth Evanglism Confrnc January 22-23, 2010. YEC is going to b anothr xciting vnt as w ar challngd to Bring It as srious followrs of Jsus Christ. What xactly is it that w ar to bring? As th writr of Psalm 96:8 dclars, w ar to bring glory to God among all th popls of th arth: Giv to th Lord th glory H dsrvs. W bring glory to th Fathr whn w worship Him, passionatly pursu our dlight in Him, and tll th nations of His glorious charactr and dds. Thus, as Christ s ambassadors to th world, w hav bn ntrustd to bring th gospl to vryon w mt that all popl might know God and glorify Him. In 2010, w will b moving to a nw vnu th Charlston Civic Cntr and th Municipal Auditorium. W ar gratful to our partnrs at Cross Lans Baptist Church for gnrously providing spac, prsonnl, and rsourcs th past coupl of yars. God has blssd our fforts and YEC has grown trmndously rquiring us to mov to a largr plac. God opnd th opportunity in Charlston and w r xcitd to s what H s going to do! Rick Coram will b spaking and ncouraging us all to ngag in vanglism. Jason Lovins will lad us to th thron of God and hlp us rspond to Him in corporat worship. Our frinds from North Grnvill Univrsity, Act II, will hlp with drama. Brakout sssions will b lad by our campus ministrs. And downhr will bring an xciting concrt on Friday night as wll as shar with our studnts in a spcial brakout sssion on Saturday. Don t miss this xciting opportunity for you and your studnts to... Bring It! For mor information go to: www.yecbringit.com or www.wvvanglism.com BE PREPARED FOR VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Vacation Bibl School 2010 is alrady off to an xciting start! Twlv popl from Wst Virginia ar srving on th stat VBS Training Tam this yar. Thy ar going to th Ridgcrst Confrnc Cntr, January 7-9, 2010, to gt information about th 2010 VBS matrials. This group will lad th VBS training for all th association training tam mmbrs on Saturday, Fbruary 27, 2010, at Frdom Baptist Church, Nuttr Fort. Plas not that th aras availabl for training ar bing xpandd this yar. Plan to xpand your association tam, too. Hr ar your tam mmbrs. Thos with an (*) ar nw aras of training this yar. Jnni Hughs---Gnral Officrs Lynn Sommrvilll---Youth Bill Frnch---Prtn* Kn Owns---Missions* Mari Davidson---Spcial Nds* Jim Scott---Adults Misti Frnch---Childrn Nancy Pickns---Prschool Trri Hannah, Randy Spurgon---Music January 2010
From th Excutiv Dirctor: Excutiv Dirctor Trry Harpr Dar Frinds; During this sason of th yar, I hav thought much about my own Christian hritag. I was so blssd to grow up in a Christian hom and b taught about Jsus at an arly ag. I was blssd that my Mom and Dad took m to a small Southrn Baptist Church and thr I hard th Gospl prachd and was taught th storis of Jsus. I was so imprssd as a child by th fact that our Pastor would lav our church to go to th forign mission fi ld, as it was calld thn. His wif was my piano tachr and h had baptizd m and was such a compassionat, loving prson. I flt w ndd thm, why would thy lav us to go off to anothr country. My Pastor, THE WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHERN BAPTIST (USPS 097-990) Grg Wrigly, Editor grgwrigly@wvcsb.org Publishd tn tims pr yar by Th Wst Virginia Convntion of Southrn Baptists Numbr On Mission Way Scott Dpot WV 25560-9406. Rv. Jay Stwart, took th tim to sit with m and xplain that thr ar many boys and girls who hav nvr hard th story of Jsus, and God was calling thm to go and tll thm. That so imprssd m as a young lad, still forming my thoughts about God and how H works in our world. Latr, as I grw up and wnt off to collg and thn startd to srv as a Pastor whil in sminary, Jay and Laura L Stwart cam hom on furlough and spok in th church whr I was srving, and thy shard that thy wr abl to do what thy wr doing bcaus Southrn Baptists gav to th Cooprativ Program. H statd that h had othr missionary frinds who had to spnd hug amounts of tim writing back to thir supportrs to kp th funds coming in ordr just to stay on th fi ld. H was so apprciativ that bcaus of Southrn Baptists and thir support of th Cooprativ Program, h could giv all of his tim to th work God had calld him thr to do. I am so thankful for somon who had th faith to start that littl Southrn Baptist Church, and thos who gav th funds to do so. Thr I was savd and baptizd and bgan my walk with th Lord Jsus. I am also gratful for th sminary whr I was traind. Most of my ducation was paid for by gifts to th Cooprativ Program. Gifts that wr droppd into an offring plat somwhr across Amrica, that vntually wr snt to a sminary in which I could nroll with tuition paid. That was important to a boy who grw up in a family as on of tn childrn. I am gratful for th ducation that th young man rcivd at that sam sminary, who would vntually bcom my Pastor. I am so thankful for funds that hav supportd th Intrnational Mission Board, whr I would vntually srv on th Board of Trusts for ight yars and s fi rst hand th mighty hand of God bringing th lost of th world to faith in Christ. Littl did I know that on day I would nd up in Wst Virginia working with a stat convntion which is considrd an mrging rgion by th North Amrican Mission Board. This Board provids larg sums of support for th work in this rlativly nw convntion. How is NAMB abl to do this and whr dos this support com from? Wll, from Southrn Baptists through th Cooprativ Program. I hav bn so blssd to s fi rst hand th grat work don ach day by th Cooprativ Program. It is th grat gnius of th Southrn Baptist Convntion. It is ach of us putting our small part with th gratr group that puts in its part, bcaus w know that w can do mor togthr than w can do sparatly! Th Cooprativ Program supports th work of th Intrnational Mission Board, th North Amrican Mission Board, our six sminaris scattrd across th country, and it supports th work by our Ethics and Rligious Librty Commission. All of this work is abl to go forward and ultimatly bring many to Christ, bcaus of th faithfulnss of Southrn Baptists giving rgularly through thir local Southrn Baptist church to th Cooprativ Program. My own lif could hav bn so diffrnt without th Cooprativ Program. Thr ar also countlss thousands of othrs who may not vn know it, but thir livs would b vry diffrnt had thr not bn a Cooprativ Program. I hop you will ncourag your church to incras thir gifts to th Cooprativ Program. If you or your Pastor nds matrial to promot CP giving in your church, plas call our Stat Convntion offi c and ask --------------continud on top of nxt pag www.wvbaptists.org Not: No paid advrtising or subscriptions accptd. This papr is fully fundd by Southrn Baptists in Wst Virginia. Priodicals Postag Paid Scott Dpot, WV 25560 and additional mailing offics POSTMASTER: Snd addrss changs to: Numbr On Mission Way Scott Dpot, WV 25560-9406 Th WVCSB is Building Strong Foundations for a Strong Futur W ar focusd on ministris that Build th Kingdom: Missions and Evanglism Prayr and Spiritual Rnwal Communication and Public Rlations Strngthning Churchs Fllowship...Fulfilling th Grat Commission 2
--------------------continud from prvious pag for Susan Carpntr or m and w will b happy to snd thm to you fr of charg. Tak it from somon who has bn a grat bnfactor, th Cooprativ Program works! It is a grat way to do Acts 1:8 and tak th Gospl to our Jrusalm, Juda, Samaria and to th nds of th arth! Sincrly, Trry L. Harpr ASSOCIATIONS TO HOST DEACON TRAINING Thr associations ar planning to conduct training for dacons in Fbruary. Monday vning, Fbruary 22nd, is dacon training in th Potomac Highlands Association. Tusday vning, Fbruary 23rd, is dacon training in th Monongahla Association, at Evangl, Bridgport. Th Uppr Ohio Vally Association will hav th training on Wdnsday vning Fbruary 24th. Th training will b for both dacons and thir wivs. Chck with your Association Missionary for dtails. A rprsntativ from LifWay Christian Rsourcs will lad th training. 2010 PowrPlant Edition to Ministr in 19 Citis By Jonathan Wilson ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) Th North Amrican Mission Board s PowrPlant initiativ dsignd to xpos studnts to church planting and vanglism -- has announcd it will conduct projcts nxt summr in 19 citis nationwid, including Los Angls, Atlanta, Dnvr and Cincinnati. During th summr of 2009, PowrPlant connctd 109 Southrn Baptist churchs with mor than 100 church plantrs in on-wk mission projct sttings involving mor than 1,900 studnt participants. Church youth groups from two popl to 200, from thos who hav fi nishd sixth grad to collg studnts ar ligibl to participat in PowrPlant. PowrPlant is a pr-packagd program dsignd to lt studnts larn hands-on about church planting principls and vanglism skills. W ar xcitd to partnr with grat church plants in ths citis, said John W. Baily, tam ladr for PowrPlant at NAMB. I think w hav a lot of options for youth ministrs to choos from. W hav som nat fi rst-tim citis lik Los Angls and Madison, Wis., in addition to citis w v bn in for yars, such as Nashvill and Chicago. Othr citis on th 2010 PowrPlant schdul ar Port Arthur, Txas; Mmphis, Tnn.; Savannah, Ga.; Indianapolis, Ind.; St. Louis, Mo.; Phonix, Ariz.; Grnvill/Spartanburg, S.C.; Philadlphia, Pa.; Sattl, Wash.; Ottawa, Ontario (Canada); San Francisco Bay Ara, Calif.; and Charlston, W.Va. Nxt summr, PowrPlant projcts will start on Monday and nd on Saturday. Church youth groups will b tamd up with a church plantr, and participants will ministr to th community through a varity of assignmnts that could includ sports camps, vacation Bibl schools and srvant vanglism projcts. In addition to hands-on missions involvmnt, participants will larn ky principls of church planting in morning sssions, and will work with thir church plants ach aftrnoon. At th nd of th day, youth groups will com togthr for worship. PowrPlant s 2010 thm will b Unhindrd, basd on 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. W ar rady and willing to partnr with church youth ladrs in mobilizing thir studnts, Baily adds. I think our tam can add valu to thir mission xprincs through our rlationships with church plantrs and stratgists throughout North Amrica. For mor information or to rgistr for 2010 PowrPlant, go to www.powr-plant.nt. or call 1-800-462-8657, option 2. For a fr PowrPlant DVD, -mail powrplant@namb. nt. Jonathan Wilson is stratgy dvlopmnt coordinator on NAMB s studnt voluntr mobilization tam in Alphartta, Ga. Plymounth Havn Baptist Church workd with Andy DHart (L) and First Baptist Ospry, FL, workd with Norm Cannada in 2009. WVCSB Calndar WVCSB Calndar January 3-6 - January Bibl Study 16 - WVCSB Excutiv Bd Mtg 17 - Sanctity of Human Lif Sunday 17-19 - Staff/Missionary Updat 22-23 - Youth Evanglism Confrnc Fbruary 6 - Tri-County Assoc. Disastr Rlif Training 11-13 - Facilitator Training 11-13 - Basic Training I 12-13 - Basic Training II 14 - Racial Rconciliation Sunday 15-21 - Focus on WMU 20 - Mn s Ministry Plan. Mtg 21 - PHASE ONE: Praying... Across Wst Virginia Launch 22-24 - Dacon Training 26-27 - WMU Officrs Council 26-27 - Stat VBS Clinic 28 - Voluntr Rcognition Sunday March 5-6 - Bi-Vocational Pastors Rtrat 7-13 - Youth Wk 7-14 - Wk of Prayr for North Amrican Missions & Anni Armstrong Offring 10-13 - Disastr Rlif Trng 12-13 - Marriag Enrichmnt Rtrat 14 - Daylight Saving Tim Bgins 14 - PHASE TWO: Th Main Evnt...Across Wst Virginia 14 - PHASE THREE: Find It Hr...Across Wst Virginia Launch 18 - WVCSB Ordr of Businss Committ Mtg 19-20 - WMU Missions Clbration 20 - Mountain Stat Assoc. Disastr Rlif Training 21 - Substanc Abus Prvntion Sunday 26-27 - Ministrs Wivs Rtrat 28 - On Mission: Planting Nw Congrgations Sunday January 2010 3
CANAAN VALLEY HOSTS ARCHERY TOURNAMENT Pastor Mark Josph workd with th Canaan Vally Rsort to host a 3-D Archry Tournamnt on Sptmbr 26. In spit of th rain and blustry wind, 20 popl participatd in th tournamnt. It was th fi rst archry tournamnt hld in th ara for svral yars. All th participants wr nthusiastic about bing in anothr shoot nxt yar. Brothr Mark is pastor of Canaan Vally Baptist Church. H is also a NAMB appointd missionary for th rsort community. Josph utilizd th 3-D Archry targts housd at th stat convntion offi c. [blow] taking aim at on of th targts on th rang at Canaan Vally Rsort] YSC PLANNING UNDERWAY Randy Spurgon mt with youth and music ladrs from across th stat in ordr to continu making plans for th 2010 YSC vnt. [blow] YSC is schduld for April 24, 2010. Practic will again b hld at Good Shphrd Baptist Church in Tays Vally. Th Concrt will b at th Charlston Mall. WVCSB PASTORS CONFERENCE INSPIRATIONAL Thos attnding th 2009 Pastors Confrnc wr tratd to an aftrnoon and vning of grat music, outstanding praching, and motivational storis. Th confrnc rlctd Jimmy Morton as Prsidnt, Grg Varndll as Vic-Prsidnt, and Marty Turnr as Trasurr. Dr. Shannon Scott [right] bgan th aftrnoon with a strong mssag from Rvlation 2-3 on th nds of th churchs to follow Jsus. Scott was born in Whling, WV. H was raisd in North Carolina. H has pastord for many yars in North Carolina. A rgional consultant with LifWay Christian Rsourcs, Kn Marlr [lft] prsntd an outstanding mssag about th importanc of using th Sunday School in outrach and disciplship. Brian Harmon, [right] pastor of Nhmiah Baptist Church, prsntd a powrful mssag on th nd for planting nw churchs and th impact nw churchs can hav on a community and in God s Kingdom. Harmon has sn th impact of a nw work first hand sinc h was th church planting pastor for Nhmiah. Marlr spok again in th vning sssion concrning th importanc of utilizing th Sunday School or small groups to rach lost popl for Christ. Dr. Scott concludd th vning with a mssag for pastors to prach th word of God. Th congrgation had th opportunity to b th first to har th Baptist Blugrass Boys. Randy Spurgon hlpd organiz th group in ordr to provid som mountainr gospl music. Th attnds wr privilgd to har Francs Skns [right] again this yar. Sh providd spcial music in th vning sssions. Pastor Morton and th othr officrs again did a marvlous job planning for th confrnc. [abov] Grg Varndll (L) and Jimmy Morton. [right] Th Baptist Blugrass Boys: (L to R) Randy Spurgon, Trry Vaughan, Rick Canfild, Dnnis Chrry. IMMANUEL BAPTIST ASSOCIATION ELECTS OFFICERS Mssngrs to th 2009 Immanul Baptist Annual Mting lctd thr nw officrs to lad thm. Association Missionary Dick Howi [right] stands nxt to Trista Nott, Association Scrtary. To hr right is Eric Bnson, Clrk, thn Frd Basntt, Modrator, and on th lft is Jim Massy, Vic-Modrator. Not picturd is Conn Johnson, trasurr. 4
LifWay Rsarch Rvals Top Church Evanglism Activitis By Mark Klly NASHVILLE, Tnn., 10/7/09 Whn it coms to vanglistic outrach, th most common mthods Southrn Baptist churchs us ths days ar Vacation Bibl School, fding ministris, visitor follow-up and prayr for popl who hav not mad a dcision to rciv Christ. Most pastors, howvr, struggl to lad by xampl in prsonal vanglism, and churchs don t mak th most ffctiv us of availabl mdia to communicat with popl who ar unchurchd, maning thos not associatd with any church. Ths wr th ky insights drawn from an onlin study, conductd by LifWay Rsarch, that askd Southrn Baptist pastors mor than 30 qustions about thir prsonal vanglism fforts, vanglism in thir praching, thir church s vanglism mthods and advrtising outrach mthods usd to rach thir communitis. Evnts and ongoing activitis By far th most common outrach vnt conductd by Southrn Baptist congrgations is Vacation Bibl School. Eighty-fi v prcnt of pastors say thir churchs hld VBS in th past 12 months. Th nxt most common vnt, rgistrd by 58 prcnt of pastors, is a prayr mphasis focusd spcifi cally on outrach or unblivrs. Th nxt most-oftn mntiond vnts ar srvant vanglism projcts (46 prcnt), rvival srvics (45 prcnt) and door-to-door canvassing (44 prcnt). Pastors also wr askd about ongoing vanglistic activitis. Th most common ongoing vanglistic activity, as citd by 86 prcnt of pastors, is conducting wkly follow-up with popl who visitd a church srvic. Concrning thir prsonal blifs about vanglism, 43 prcnt of pastors strongly agr that vanglism is oftn ovrshadowd by othr prioritis. Only about on-third of pastors cit vanglism training as an ongoing activity, though 96 prcnt strongly agr that vry Christian has a rsponsibility to shar th Gospl with non-christians. Th scond most-oftn mntiond ongoing activity, at 77 prcnt, is offring food to popl who ar in nd in th community. According to Scott Mc- Connll of LifWay Rsarch, Thr out of four Southrn Baptist churchs wr prpard to giv food to thos in thir community who had nds as th conomic diffi cultis scalatd across th country. Churchs hav th rsponsibility to hlp blivrs b prpard to shar th rason for th hop thy hav in Jsus Christ, and this is a tangibl way of bing prpard, as Scriptur calls us to b. Pastoral ladrship Othr qustions about dimnsions of pastoral vanglism rvald that pastors st good xampls vn though many fl vanglism is diffi cult. Th survy found th traditional invitation is still aliv and wll in Southrn Baptist churchs, with 82 prcnt of pastors strongly agring that thy invit popl to com forward to mak spiritual dcisions. Anothr 8 prcnt somwhat agr. Additionally, 81 prcnt of pastors strongly agr, and 18 prcnt somwhat agr, that thy fl rsponsibl to lad thir churchs by xampl in th ara of vanglism. A total of 86 prcnt agr, ithr strongly or somwhat, that thy pray daily for popl thy know who ar not profssing Christians. But 39 prcnt say prsonal vanglism dos not com asily for thm; only 25 prcnt strongly agr thy fi nd it asy to shar th Gospl on-on-on. In spit of th challng, howvr, th vast majority of pastors 96 prcnt say thy hav shard th Gospl with at last on prson outsid of church in th past six months. Sixty-six prcnt say thir frquncy of witnssing falls btwn on and 15 tims. Nintn prcnt rport that thy shard th Gospl 16-40 tims, and 10 prcnt claim mor than 40 tims; 4 prcnt acknowldg thy hav not witnssd to anyon in th past six months. Ninty-nin prcnt of pastors also say thy hav invitd at last on unchurchd prson to attnd a church srvic or som othr church program in th past six months. Twnty-nin prcnt stimat thy hav invitd mor than 40 popl, and 1 prcnt say thy havn t invitd anyon. Many pastors ar stting good vanglistic xampls, said McConnll, but thir congrgations may bnfi t just as much from haring a pastor honstly shar that it isn t always asy for him. Th typical blivr can rlat to that. Evn th apostl Paul askd th Ephsians to pray that h would hav boldnss to shar th Gospl. Using mdia Th rsarch also dtrmind that Southrn Baptist churchs don t mak frqunt us of availabl mdia to communicat with Amricans. An arly 2009 study conductd by LifWay Rsarch, in support of th North Amrican Mission Board s GPS national vanglism initiativ, rvald rsistanc to advrtising mdia among Amricans. Still, th prcntag of churchs using advrtising mdia is much smallr than th prcntag of Amricans who ar willing to rciv information through communications mdia. Building upon that arly 2009 study, this nw rsarch found th most common mdium usd by Southrn Baptist churchs to communicat with thir communitis is nwspapr advrtising. Two-thirds of pastors say thir churchs advrtisd in a nwspapr in th last 12 months. Th prvious study showd that 48 prcnt of Amricans ar vry or somwhat willing to rciv information about a church through an informativ ad in th nwspapr. Th oldr study also showd that 46 prcnt of Amricans ar vry or somwhat willing to rciv information about a local church through billboard advrtising. In contrast to Southrn Baptist churchs strong us of nwspapr advrtising, only 11 prcnt of Southrn Baptist churchs advrtisd on a billboard in th last 12 months, th nw study rvald. Th scond most common communications mdium usd by Southrn Baptist churchs is invitation cards distributd by church mmbrs. Sixty prcnt of pastors say thy hav distributd such cards in th prvious 12 months, and 44 prcnt rport thy noticd som rspons from th ffort. Undrstanding your community s opnnss to various kinds of communication is on way to undrstand your church s contxt, McConnll said. Rsarch indicats that fforts lik th invit cards that ncourag prsonal convrsations with a congrgation s frinds and family ar most ffctiv. Howvr, th right advrtising has th potntial to touch popl that a local church may not b abl to rach othrwis. Th ntir rport, Southrn Baptist Evanglism Today, including dtails on th mthods that churchs and pastors us for vanglism and which advrtising mdia gnrat rsponss, is availabl at www.lifwayrsarch.com. Mthodology: Rsarch for th Southrn Baptist Evanglism Today study is basd on an onlin survy LifWay Rsarch conductd among 801 Southrn Baptist pastors. Th sampl siz provids 95 prcnt confi dnc that th sampling rror dos not xcd ±3.4 prcnt for th total sampl. Rsponss wr wightd basd on church siz to minimiz rspons bias. January 2010 5
HENRY AND TASHA CLARY SEND PRAYER NEEDS FROM URUGUAY (Th Clary s srv with th IMB as church planting missionaris in Uruguay. Tasha is from Librty, WV) 1. Pray for Adriana and Juan Pablo, two folks who ar taking a cours calld th Alpha Cours, which is an introduction to Christianity. Thr ar six mtings,with ach mor vanglistic in its prsntation. Pray that thy will rspond to th Holy Spirit's lading. [Juan is scond from lft] 2. Pray for th Uruguay Urban Tam (our IMB tam), which is mad up of four familis (Johnsons, Pssoas, Chapas, and Clarys) as w sk th Lord's guidanc for raching th coastal rgion of Uruguay from Montvido to Maldonado. Pray for us to hav wisdom as w plan for 2010. Pray that w can us and guid in God s plan th mission tams that will com this summr. Hnry stands with a postr taching childrn aftr school; on th right anothr Bibl study tim 3. Pray for Tasha that sh will continu to rach th youth and childrn of our nighborhood and that th Lord will rais up Uruguayan ladrs to hlp hr out and to vntually tak ovr th ministry to youth and childrn. 4. Pray for Hnry as h undrtaks a worldviw study of th popl of Carrasco. This is a prtty big rsarch projct that involvs intrviwing rsidnts and compiling th rsponss into a rport that dscribs thir viw of rality and will hlp us in th futur in raching thm for Christ. 5. Pray for Jorg, who is an activ mmbr of th Oasis ministry, th ministry w work with. Jorg has bon cancr and is right now undrgoing th third round of chmothrapy. [Jorg is scond from lft] 6
Mak your plans to hav January Bibl Study in your church. Study guids ar availabl from LifWay for all ag groups. Nd som idas? Nd som hlp? Nd a study ladr? Contact your Association Missionary, or your stat Sunday School Dirctor, Grg Wrigly, at 800-411-5758, xtnsion 118, or grgwrigly@wvcsb.org CHARLES MINNEY NEW COALFIELDS ASSOCIATION MISSIONARY Charls Minny bgan his ministry as th Association Missionary for th Coalfi lds Baptist Association in Octobr, 2009. Charli and his wif, Cindy, and daughtr, Nichol, movd to Wst Virginia from Woodstock, Gorgia. H srvd as Stratgic Missions Champion at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, for th stat of Wst Virginia. H also was th Facilitis Dirctor for th church. H was rsponsibl for maintaining th buildings and grounds of th 86 acr church campus. Minny organizd twlv mission trips into McDowll County ovr a thr yar priod. Minny has also workd as a mat cuttr for Sam s Club, a truck drivr, and was in th Marin Corps for four yars. H is a 1987 Gilmr County High School graduat. ---a word from th Editor SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE SUNDAY NEEDS TO BE OBSERVED January 17, 2010, is th day st asid by Southrn Baptists to mphasiz th importanc of human lif and th valu of th human lif bcaus that lif was givn to us by Crator God. This valu has bn undr attack sinc th Gardn of Edn. Th first murdr was by a brothr killing his own brothr. I am not sur on can say it is wors now than on hundrd yars ago, or vn two thousand yars ago. W know popls across th world hav usd child sacrific as a way of worship, that th Romans put unwantd childrn on th hillsids to b atn by animals or rscud for th prostitution houss, and that slavry has bn practicd by many popl groups. Amrica knows bttr. But our popl and our govrnmnt ar dgrading human lif mor and mor ach day. It bgan by dnying that God is Crator. It continus through a govrnmnt sanctiond and paid for abortion philosophy, and our Prsidnt is on rcord supporting th killing of babis vn up to th momnt of birth. On of th dbats concrning th so calld halth car bill is th provision of car for popl, spcially oldr popl, with crtain kinds of illnsss. Th pictur to th right is of a plastic human ftus showing what a baby looks lik at ag 12 wks aftr concption. Considr what w know of a twlv wk old human ftus: a) wighs about 1 ounc; b) is about 2 1/2 inchs long; c) h sucks his thumb; d) th hart startd bating at about 20 days old; ) can squint, swallow, and can mak a fist; f) is snsitiv to hat, touch, light, and nois; g) can kick; h) has fingrprints; i) brain wavs startd bing rcordd at ag 40 days; j) all body systms ar working. Abortion kills a human lif. Thr is no dbat to it. You can contact Hritag Hous at www.hh76.com or call 1-800-858-3040 to gt mor information. You can gt ths modls, too. Giv ths to your childrn and tnagrs. Tak thm to school or to work. Mayb w should snd on to our lctd officials. January 2010 7
Across IMAGINE... Evry Blivr Sharing. 2010 Evry Wst Virginian Haring. PHASE ONE: Praying...Across Wst Virginia. A coordinatd prayr ffort will b launchd on Fbruary 21. Praying...Across Wst Virginia will b for th twofold purpos of (1) gtting out of th pws and into th strts and (2) praying onsit with insight. W want our popl praying targtd prayrs for God to pntrat th barrirs of lostnss in th livs of spcific individuals, nighborhoods, and communitis through individual/group prayr and prayr walking. Church mmbrs and/or groups of church mmbrs (i.., Sunday School classs or small groups) will b xhortd to pray for thr spcific lost individuals by nam for six wks lading up to Eastr. In addition, participating churchs will b givn guidlins for conducting prayr walks in targtd nighborhoods/communitis for thr wks from Fbruary 21 March 13, in prparation for th nxt phas. PHASE TWO: Th Main Evnt Across Wst Virginia. Traditionally, th vanglism dpartmnt of our stat convntion sponsors a Stat Evanglism Clbration ach April. Evn in rcnt yars whn this vnt has bn hld in two rgional sits, attndanc has bn mdiocr to say th last. In an attmpt to mov away from anothr confrnc that dosn't translat into incrasd vanglism, w would lik to invst in an vnt that will hav a gratr impact on vanglism. In th plac of a broad stat vanglism confrnc, w ar asking ach association to hold an Acts 1:8 confrnc on (or around) Sunday, March 14, 2010. This confrnc will srv as rallying vnt to communicat th cooprativ ffort of Southrn Baptists across th stat and to ncourag vryon to mov on to th third phas--find It Hr Across Wst Virginia. Th goal is to hav at last 100 participants from ach rgion (association), maning 1,000 Wst Virginia Southrn Baptists rallying for th caus of Christ! W ar asking pastors and churchs to suspnd all normal activitis for on Sunday vning (March 14th) in ordr to com togthr as th broadr Body of Christ at th Acts 1:8 confrnc in thir association. At that confrnc a spakr will bring an vanglistic charg to th participants and blivrs will b givn an opportunity to shar tstimonis about Phas On: Praying...Across Wst Virginia as wll as tstimonis about th plans for and a call to mov forward with th nxt phas. PHASE THREE: Find It Hr Across Wst Virginia. This phas is th crucial part of Across Wst Virginia. From March 14-April 3, churchs and individual blivrs will saturat thir nighborhoods and communitis with Find It Hr matrials (gospl prsntation, invitation to Eastr srvic, church info, tc.). During this tim, Find It Hr TV commrcials will air in vry markt across Wst Virginia during th two wks lading up to Eastr. Ths high-quality commrcials ar providd by our partnrship with NAMB and hav alrady bn scurd. Th qustion is: will our churchs tak advantag of this grat opportunity? WVCSB will provid all th matrials ndd to distribut to vry houshold in vry nighborhood. Churchs will also b providd a 3 ft x 5 ft bannr to b displayd at th church gathring plac. Th matrials for door hangrs and th bannrs will coordinat with th Find It Hr commrcials in ordr to assist sking individuals whr to find it (faith, hop, lov...jsus!). Again, WVCSB is going to provid all of th rsourcs for th churchs. W r just asking churchs to us thm by going out and saturating thir nighborhoods and communitis lading up to Eastr. PHASE FOUR: Clbrat Across Wst Virginia. Follow-up is crucial to any vanglism stratgy. Unfortunatly, it is oftn th missing ingrdint to th most wllintntiond approach. Assistanc and training will b providd on how to implmnt an asy follow-up stratgy for Across Wst Virginia that will hlp thm to rap th harvst of what God has don through thir fforts, using small groups (Sunday School, community groups, tc.) as th natural avnus for assimilating nw prsons into th church. W will also assist in gathring nw blivrs into nw churchs. All churchs will b ncouragd to conduct thir own clbration srvics somtim aftr Eastr to clbrat th rsults of Across Wst Virginia. Hopfully, thr will b baptisms and othr harvst tstimonis. In th last, churchs will b abl to clbrat thir faithfulnss to participat in this task and to tstify to prsonal growth, lssons, tc. Ultimatly, God will b givn th glory for th grat things H has don! 8
Wst Virginia Prayr Focus Your stat convntion staff mts ach working day for a brif tim of prayr. W pray for missionaris, campuss, associations, churchs, and chapls by nam ach day. W invit our radrs to pray as wll. Nw Work: Crossroads, Burnsvill, pastor Rodny Jamison, Allghny Association. Offr Prais for thos who ar participating with Pastor Jamison. Pray th following scriptur for Crossroads: But you, H askd thm, who do you say that I am? Simon Ptr answrd, You ar th Mssiah, th Son of th living God! And Jsus rspondd, Simon son of Jonah, you ar blssd bcaus flsh and blood did not rval this to you, but My Fathr in havn. And I also say to you that you ar Ptr, and on this rock I will build My church, and th forcs of Hads will not ovrpowr it. I will giv you th kys of th kingdom of havn, and whatvr you bind on arth is alrady bound in havn, and whatvr you loos on arth is alrady loosd in havn. (Matthw 16:15-19, HCSB) Church Planting: But how can thy call on Him in whom thy hav not blivd? And how can thy bliv without haring about Him? And how can thy har without a prachr? And how can thy prach unlss thy ar snt? (Romans 10:14-15a HCSB) Pray that: (1) God will rmov vry obstacl to Your Word; (2) God will prpar th harts of th popl to har and rciv Your Word; (3) God would crat faith in th popl as thy har th Word of God; (4) th popl of this ara will lov Your Word; and th popl will truly undrstand Your Word*. Scriptur Promis: I will sing about th LORD s faithful lov forvr; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulnss to all gnrations. (Psalm 89:1 HCSB) Rad, study, and pray all of Psalm 89 svral tims during th month. Ministry Focus: Studnts -- Pray that th young popl will b opn to God s Word. Ask God to giv thm a hungr for th Word of God. Pray that th lost youth will accpt th gospl of Jsus Christ. Plad that th bliving youth will build thir livs on th Word of God* (basd on 1 Thssalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Wknd Focus: Each wknd prpar a thank you not for a diffrnt stor or srvic agncy you frqunt. Exampl: Th grocry stor, pharmacy, gas station, fast food rstaurant. Rsourc: Th Lif-Changing Powr of Prayr Mmbr Book, $5.95, from Lifway Christian Rsourcs (*Prayr Clost ministris) Dat Jan. 4 Jan. 5 Jan. 6 Jan. 7 Jan. 8 Jan. 11 Jan. 12 Jan. 13 Jan. 14 Jan. 15 Jan. 18 Jan. 19 Jan. 20 Jan. 21 Jan. 22 Jan. 25 Jan. 26 Jan. 27 Jan. 28 Jan. 29 Fb. 1 Fb. 2 Fb. 3 Fb. 4 Fb. 5 Association Uppr Ohio Vally Allghny Coalfilds Gratr Huntington Immanul Monongahla Mountain Stat Pionr Potomac Highland Tri-County Uppr Ohio Vally Allghny Coalfilds Gratr Huntington Immanul Monongahla Mountain Stat Pionr Potomac Highland Tri-County Uppr Ohio Vally Allghny Coalfilds Gratr Huntington Immanul Campus Mt. Stat Univ. WVU Morgantown Blufild Stat Charlston Ara Concord Univ. Marshall Univ. Mt. Stat Univ. WVU Morgantown Blufild Stat Charlston Ara Concord Univ. Marshall Univ. Mt. Stat Univ. WVU Morgantown Blufild Stat Charlston Ara Concord Univ. Marshall Univ. Mt. Stat Univ. WVU Morgantown Blufild Stat Charlston Ara Concord Univ. Marshall Univ. Mt. Stat Univ. Church Fairlawn, Parkrsburg Faith, Daily Faith, Mason Faith, Ruprt Faith, Wst Union Faith, Wston Fllowship, Princton First, Bluwll First, Brandywin First, Burlington First, Crdo First, Chlyan First, Chstr First, Craigsvill First, Fairla First, Fort Ashby First, Hinton First, Huntrsvill First, Knova First, Princton First So., Fairmont First So., Grandviw First So., Nmours First So., Sutton Foxs Hollow Chapl Grac Ch. of Plasant Vally HarborLight Harvst Tim Highland Faith Fllowship Hop, Richwood Lifsong Lighthous, Ivydal Living Hop, Ptrsburg Living Rivr Marland Hights Ministry of Salvation Nw Lif, Arnoldsburg Nw Vision Solid Rock South Whling Whling Community Abundant Hop Th Bridg Carpndal Cntrpoint, Hurrican Chins Mission Th Church at Martinsburg Crossroads, Burnsvill Faith Fllowship, Athns Faith, Winfild January 2010 9
ALLEGHENY ASSOCIATION A spcial Dacon Ordination Srvic was hld for Jrry Litton at Southrn Baptist Fllowship Church in Summrsvill, Wst Virginia, Octobr 25, 2009. Rv. Mark R. McClung prachd th Ordination Mssag and Pastor Mik Saundrs gav Th Commitmnt Charg. Th srvic was followd by a tim of fllowship to show apprciation for th Pastor and Dacons. [picturd blow-rv. Mark R. McClung, Jrry Litton, and Pastor Mik Saundrs] COALFIELDS ASSOCIATION Th Adult Choir from East Williamson Baptist Church sang a slction of Gospl Music at th Smithsonian Nw Harmonis Music Exhibit at th Brass Tr Rstaurant. Th Kidz Choir also visitd th xhibit, whr thy sang and mad church fans lik th ons that wr displayd in th Gospl Sction of th musum. Randy Rhods lads th music ministris, and Bob Norman is th pastor. Nws from Wst Virginia Churchs Pastor John [picturd blow, lft] at Big Spring Baptist Church, PO Box 271, Mallory, WV 25364 Pastor John Thompson, Gilbrt Crk, stands with Camron and Brandi Harrison.[abov and blow] Both childrn attnd Gilbrt Crk Baptist Church. Th childrn wr prsntd th quilt by th church. Th quilt was mad during church camp last summr. Th Harrison s hom was badly damagd by th May flood in th Gilbrt ara. th pastor. Th youth and adult choirs from First Baptist, Knova, attndd a concrt by th African Childrn s Choir. Th church hostd two African missionaris and th principal of th Zambia Church School whr Pastor Stv Willis taught this past summr. Th sniors of th church, accompanid by th missionaris, wr tratd to a Fall Foliag trip to Camp Cown. Th African missionaris wr imprssd with th bauty of our stat. Lincoln Baptist Church hostd a spcial mmorial srvic hld by th Hospic Organization from th ara. Th vnt srvd to rmmbr thos who hav passd away in Lincoln County this past yar. Th ladis of th church providd rfrshmnts aftr th assmbly. Milton Clm is pastor. Locust Grov Baptist was invitd to an Ic Cram Social in honor of Mrs. Marjori Prdu s 101st birthday. Sh is on of th founding mmbrs of th church, and is a tru inspiration to all. Happy Birthday! Tn L.I.F.E. hld a Pajama Party for th young rsidnts at th City Mission, giving thm pajamas and socks as an arly Christmas clbration. Randall Robrtson is th pastor. Congratulations to Jim and Rachl Lacky from Wstmorland Baptist who clbratd thir 50th Wdding Annivrsary in Dcmbr. C. J. Adkins is Wstmorland s pastor. Pastor John Cain rports: Big Spring Church has th las and kys to th Grad School Building nxt door to th church. W ar going to b gtting th calndar rady to start th rmodling stag to opn AREA 19, THE IMPACT ZONE! Anyon who would lik a mission projct involving construction and rmodling is ncouragd to contact 10 GREATER HUNTINGTON ASSOC. Abundant Hop Baptist Church in Barboursvill, whr Paul Harris is pastor, hld a motorcycl run to Babcock Stat Park this fall. Th lavs wr bautiful and th wathr was a littl ovrcast and cool, but th gospl was prsntd and thy had opportunity to spak and fllowship with popl who do not attnd church. Thy rcntly baptizd six during a combind srvic with Altizr Baptist Church. Calvary Baptist, Chapmanvill, clbratd thir 40th Annivrsary in Octobr. Th fstivitis includd a chili suppr on Saturday, and on Sunday spcial music by Highr Ground and praching by Dlton Ball, WVCSB Dirctor of Missions. John Frman is PIONEER ASSOCIATION First Baptist Church of Chlyan participatd in th BGM in-hom car kit mission projct. What was originally th womn s projct turnd out to involv th ntir church fllowship. Th goal was to put togthr 2-3 buckts, but by th dadlin in August th congrgation was blssd nough to contribut a total of ight buckts. Th church is looking forward to doing this again in 2010. Tom Holstin is th pastor at Chlyan. Trinity Baptist Church in St. Albans, a mission-spiritd congrgation, has again rachd out to th forign mission fild. Pastor Jams Caldwll travld to Scotland with a tn-mmbr tam which originatd with th Northwst Baptist Church of th Baltimor Mtro Ara. Thy ministrd to th Bllshill Baptist Church in Bllshill, Scotland, a suburb
of Glasgow. [picturd blow ar Pastor Jams Caldwll (l) and his son Rv. Jami Caldwll (r), along with Rv. and Mrs. Bill Murdock] Nws from Wst Virginia Churchs UPPER OHIO VALLEY ASSOC. Abundant Lif Church, Whling/Triadlphia hld a Dacon ordination srvic on Nov. 1, 2009. Six mn wr duly ordaind to srv as Dacons in accordanc with Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 3 by Pastor Dr. Thomas Rntfrow and Pastor Virgil Shorty Carroll. Picturd (lft to right) ar: Michal Simpson (Chairman), Wayn Smith, Chuck Pilkinton, Pastor Rntfrow, Todd Abrcrombi, D. David Stils, Knny Brnir, and Pastor Carroll. Th purpos of th trip was to ncourag th Scottish congrgation through ministry and vanglism outrach. Th rsponsibilitis of th tam, which consistd of thr ministrs and svn lay popl, includd strt vanglism, canvassing, conducting nightly srvics, prison ministry, and childrn s ministry. According to Pastor Bill Murdock of Bllshill, th congrgation was thrilld and ar agr for th tam to rturn at thir arlist convninc. Brkly Baptist Church, in Brkly Springs, hld a yard sal in thir gym in Novmbr, and th room was filld with grat buys. A total of $715 was raisd and was usd for a mission trip to Ivydal in Dcmbr to tak sho box gifts and othr donatd gifts and to srv dinnr to th childrn. Jams Casy srvs as Transitional Pastor. HELPS IN BEING A STRATEGIC SUNDAY SCHOOL May 21 and 22, 2010 at Cross Lans Baptist Church ALLAN TAYLOR, ladr Ministr of Education FBC Woodstock, GA Friday---7 PM to 9 PM Saturday---8 AM-12:30 PM COST: $10 bfor May 1 $15 aftr May 1 for mor information visit www.impactyourcultur.com Exciting things ar happning at Ryrson Baptist Church. Our congrgation has grown considrably ovr th last yar and w hav xpandd our sanctuary and ar currntly looking to build a nw fllowship hall. God is awsom!! W rcntly ordaind 4 nw dacons, Rogr Crch, Tim Courtwright, Bryan Yukon, and Kith Hookr, and w ordaind Lanny Hwitt as our associat/youth pastor. W wish vryon a vry Mrry Christmas and a wondrful Nw Yar. ----Rn [pictur blow] Back: Mik Watson; Pastor Jim Higginson; Pastor Larry Garrison; Pastor Phil Campbll; Rogr Crch Front: Pastor Lanny Hwitt; Tim Courtwright; Bryan Yukon; Kith Hookr SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHAPLAIN MINISTERS IN WEST VIRGINIA I am an activ duty Navy chaplain, currntly stationd at th Navy Information Oprations Command in Sugar Grov, Wst Virginia. I ministr to th Sailors and Airmn stationd hr, along with thir familis who liv hr. Chaplains srv as th moral and thical advisors to th commanding officr as wll as counsl srvic mmbrs and dpndnts. I also srv as th pastor for th bas chapl and plan/organiz/ovrs th chapl programs as wll as th voluntr activitis for th bas. Chaplain Trnt A. Jssup, LT, CHC, USN Command Chaplain, NIOC Sugar Grov, Wst Virginia January 2010 11
Raching out to a sarching gnration. Calling our youth to a nw dstiny: Buckhannon, WV July 12-16, 2010 Exprinc God s lov. Undrstand God s passion. Confront your cultur. B a warrior. Discovr your passion. Chang your world. Th tim is now. WVCSB scholarships ar availabl. For mor information contact Jimmy Bldso (jimmybldso@wvcsb.org or 304-757-0944, xt. 103) or Michll Harris (michllharris@wvcsb.org or 304-757-0944, xt. 100). Ergun Canr Rick Stanly Spcial Unhindrd Gusts Jordan Easly For CAMP INFO & REGISTRATION visit www.gotllcamps.com or www.gotllministris.com CHOICES TO MAKE Hav you vr flt ovrwhlmd by th choics to mak? Just choosing a font for this short articl was almost maddning. Just about vry tim I go into McDonalds I know xactly what I want, until I s th mnu. Thn I dcid I want somthing ls. Whn it coms to trnity, th choics ar much simplr. I can choos to admit to God that I am sinful, rbllious, vil, and without mrit or strngth bfor Him. Thn, by trusting that Jsus did on th cross for m, ask Him to forgiv m of my sin. I confss that Jsus is Lord and Boss of th univrs, that all will answr to Him, and that I am willing now to submit to Him as my Boss. Or, I can ignor and rjct God and spnd trnity apart from God and havn in a plac calld Hll. Simpl nough.